Tips for Studying Preach My Gospel

I know Preach My Gospel looks like a really tiny book and should be easy to finish...haha WRONG!! you think you could read through it all in one day (And maybe you could if you took nothing from it...) but you have to study the verses and references along with the lessons to make it more meaningful (and yes longer). I'll admit I struggled a lot reading Chapter 3, I kept getting bored with it because I was just reading it and not using it. I would zone out while reading it and end up reading the same paragraph 5 times before I realized I was going no where with it. So, asking a few missionary buddies of mine for some study tips, I finally came up with a new way to study it that keeps my mind focused.

I thought I would share with other Pre-missionaries some things I do to study it:

1. Pray!- Always pray for a focused mind and inspiration before starting to study (and this is the first step to studying anything...even Textbooks! It sounds weird but it does help, I promise!)

2. Highlight- I read through the lesson and highlight (Using a color code) and underline all the key points of the lesson and the things I feel will be useful to me when in the field (promises, actions, commandments, warnings, Blessings, etc.)So I can always turn back to that lesson real quick and pick out the topic I need by looking for that color. And well coloring always helps me keep focused on something too :D

3. Notes- While highlighting and reading I like to write down notes of the things that come to my mind that I feel are important or inspirational. I also like writing quotes or the title of talks that go hand in hand with the topic I am reading. I love how PMG has the lined columns on the sides of the pages to write down all my notes, its definitely a hint that you should be writing things down ;)

4. Mark them Scriptures UP!- PMG lists many scriptures references for each lesson and chapter, Read Them!! And then highlight them! I also use a color code for this and I use those nifty "Holy Tabbs" which you have probably heard of. Using Holy Tabbs may seem like a lot of work but It is really helpful when I need to quickly find a scripture under a certain topic :)

You stick this on the front of your scriptures.

Then you draw lines down the side of your scriptures so that they coincide with the cover page (first picture)

And then you put stickers matching with that color of topic and you line it up with its column. Now as you can see with my scriptures above that I have many of the same colors of stickers and markings on the same page, to keep me from getting to confused I write the verse numbers by the Sticker so I know which verse belongs to which topic (I know it sounds a little complicated to some people, but once you buy them its easy to figure out.)

I really love Holy Tabbs mainly because it goes right along with PMG. The colors Holy Tabbs uses are the same colors as the lessons in PMG, so you can use them side by side. I definitely recommend buying them! You can find them here. (Oh and if you are one of those people who love using electronic scriptures, they have Holy Tabbs you can download for that too :D )

5. Object lessons- One thing that has helped me become more confident in learning the lessons and knowing how to teach them is finding object lessons that go with them. As a primary teacher (ahhh, yes I got that oh so fun calling right now) the only way I can teach kids about the scriptures is through object lessons and funny scenarios (especially the Old Testament!) so it has become something I like to use to teach people.

I found this amazing Book called "The Missionary's Little Book Of Teaching Tools" which also goes along with the topics of PMG. It lists a ton of simple object lessons you can use on your mission (or primary lessons) to teach the Gospel. I like to write them down on sticky notes (along with the page number) and stick them into my PMG so it will remind me of the things I can do to teach the lesson.

6. Pretend-I think the best piece of advice I've been given for studying PMG is to pretend I am going to teach an investigator about a certain topic. It helps me focus on the points I would want them to know and what they would find interesting. And it helps me prepare for when I'm really going to study it for real investigators.

That's all I have right now for studying PMG, good luck studying! If you have any other ways or tips for studying PMG, comment below, I'd love to hear them! :)